EACA Newsletter for March 30, 2009

Many upcoming events and meetings are outlined in this week's newsletter -- from the NPU-W 525 Moreland Avenue Special Committee meeting tomorrow night to gather community input to First Friday in the Village to a community Easter Egg Hunt in Brownwood Park this Saturday to a Fire Station 13 Benefit Party at The Graveyard Saturday night -- there are many opportunities to come out and join your community!!

There is a very brief survey linked below to gather your input regarding the Brownwood Park Rec Center, so take 2-3 minutes to complete that. Also, don't forget to sign up to volunteer for various Earth Day activities in the community.

Community Easter Egg Hunt Saturday @ Brownwood

The East Atlanta Kids Club is hosting a Community Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 4th at Brownwood Park.

Kids of all ages should arrive at 10:30 a.m. and go to the outdoor pavilion. (DON'T BE LATE!)

The Egg Hunt begins 11:00 a.m. Then, enjoy Egg Decorating & Games 11:30 a.m. -12:15 p.m. in the park pavilion

Call Dena at 404-627-8050 for more information.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jill & Dena
East Atlanta Kids Club

Brownwood Park Recreation Center Survey

Revenue shortfalls have closed 23 of 33 City of Atlanta Parks and Recreation Centers, including our own in Brownwood Park. The Department of Parks and Recreation is open to the idea of establishing a contract that would allow community stakeholders the ability to reopen the Brownwood Park Recreation Center.

The Friends of Brownwood Park group needs your help determining how the East Atlanta community could use this Recreation Center. If you've felt this building is under-utilized or inaccessible, this is your chance to speak up. The Friends group is conducting several short surveys over the next few weeks to develop a clear definition of how to make this building a communities center.

Please share your voice by clicking HERE to complete a 10 question survey.

Burgess-Peterson Academy Receives Math Grant

Burgess-Peterson Academy is excited to announce that we have been awarded a Mathematics Teacher Quality Grant which will support professional development for teachers over the course of one year. The grant will afford teachers an opportunity to engage in small learning communities where they will engage in learning about effective implementation of the 'EEE Model' of teaching mathematics.

The goal of the grant is to have a direct outcome in student achievement in the area of Mathematics. As the district focuses on Math and Science under the umbrella of the 22$ million dollar grant, Burgess-Peterson Academy will also go deeper and engage teachers in learning more about the "Engage, Explore and Explain" Reflective model of teaching and learning.
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Also - to read Burgess-Peterson's March newsletter, click HERE.

Fire Station 13 - Benefit Party @ The Graveyard April 4th

This Saturday, April 4th EACA and Origins Realty are partnering with The Graveyard to throw a "Sirens & Sauce" benefit party for Station 13.

There are many ways to benefit the Fire Station at this event:

The Graveyard will have a unique dinner menu special (fire-themed!) to benefit the cause, and the rest of the party starts after 8 p.m. ($5 cover to benefit the cause)
$1 Raffle Tickets for many fun prizes
$2 Miller Lite special

Many thanks to Chris Leimberger for volunteering to design the flier for both the Car Wash and Sirens & Sauce events.

Sign up now for Earth Day Activities in East Atlanta!!

East Atlanta's Earth Day recognition will be Saturday, April 18th. This year we have 3 concurrent efforts where volunteers can contribute as a part of Earth Day. Once you've read through the below and determined your preference, please e-mail the appropriate coordinator to sign-up!! We need over 100 volunteers to make Earth Day a success!

In the Village, from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, there will be a significant face-lifting and re-work of the "Welcome to East Atlanta" sign and surrounding greenspace -- painting, plant installation, etc. Additionally, we will work on clean-up efforts in the village and put in additional plantings. E-mail beautification@eaca.net if interested in volunteering for this project.

Through the entire East Atlanta neighborhood, we will conduct a Tire Round-Up from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Volunteers for the round-up need to be well-able to lift and move tires, unafraid to get dirty, and we are seeking folks who have pick-up trucks to aid in the collection of the tires.E-mail beautification@eaca.net if interested in volunteering for this project. If you have tires to be picked up or know where some are leave a message at 404 827-4124 or e-mail 4chisos@comcast.net.

The 3rd, and largest area of work will be within Brownwood Park. The Friends of Brownwood Park will be celebrating Earth Day in the park on Saturday, April 18. From 9:00 am to 1 pm, volunteers will help plant the Recreation Center beds, install a wood fence around the HVAC units on the back of the building, and replace the structure of the existing flower bed that marks the park entrance at Emerson and Brownwood. Plantings around the Recreation Center are funded in part by the Park Pride Community Grant and your help is vital to contributing matching funds in the form of volunteer hours. We need 75 folks to help us reach our goal of 300 volunteer hours. If you would like to help with this project, please e-mail parks@eaca.net and let us know we can count on you Saturday, April 18.

Local Non-Profit Radio Hosts 33rd Annual Peachblossom Bluegrass Festival

WRFG (89.3 FM), a local non-profit radio station located in Little

Five Points is holding their 33rd annual Peachblossom Bluegrass Festival on Saturday, April 4th. The festival will take place at Clarkston Community Center and this year's featured artists include: The Incorrigible String, Whoa Nelly, Counterpoint, Tucker Station String Band, The Nashvillian Family and many more.

Click HERE for further details.

Upcoming East Atlanta Area Meetings

SOPO Volunteer Orientation (Open to all who would like to volunteer with SOPO)
Monday, March 30th - 7:00 p.m.
Location: SOPO
For more information and to RSVP, contact info@sopobikes.org

MARTA's Board Business Management Committee & Financial Update Meetings
Monday, March 30th - 5:30, 7:00 p.m.
Location: MARTA Headquarters
For more information, click HERE.

525 Moreland Ave. Development NPU-W Special Committee Meeting
Tuesday, March 31st - 6:30 p.m. architects available, 7:00 p.m. meeting begins
Location: Martha Brown United Methodist Church
For more information, contact NPU-W Chair Ed Gilgor at edwardmgilgor@comcast.net or read last week's meeting notes

EABA Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, April 1st - 2:00 p.m.
Location: East Atlanta Library
For more information, contact EABA President Marc Takacs at marc@mdteam.net

SAND Monthly Meeting
Thursday, April 2nd - 7:30 p.m.
Location: Beulah Heights University Student Activities
For more information, contact SAND President Steve Norman at stephen.norman@yahoo.com

Beltline & MARTA - Citywide Conversation on Transit & Trails
Thursday, April 1st - 6:00 p.m.
Location: All Saints' Episcopal Church
For more information, click HERE

NPU-W Monthly Land Use & Zoning Committee Meeting
Tuesday, April 7th - 7:00 p.m.
Location: Zoo Atlanta, ARC Building
For more information, contact NPU-W Land Use & Zoning Chair Mark Turcotte at markturcotte@comcast.net

EABA - Business Briefs

Marc Takacs
EABA President
Realtor, Keller Williams Realty

Exciting happenings in Southeast Atlanta this spring. Aside from all of our usual fun in the long-waited spring, a major announcement is that the 2009 Atlanta Jazz Festival will be happening in Grant Park (where it first started back in 1978) on May 23rd & 24th. This is a fantastic homecoming for one of the largest music events in the Southeast. Piedmont Park welcomed some 60,000 music lovers to the 2-day event back in 2007 before it had to be moved due to drought conditions. The event is somewhat unique in that it also includes "31 Days of Jazz" at music venues, restaurants and other sites around the city for the entire month of May. Several East Atlanta Village and other local sites will be participating in the many events as part of the citywide celebration. We're currently trying to figure out how to run a shuttle service or some other form of transportation from East Atlanta Village to Grant Park for the 2-day festival. Stay tuned for more details as we hammer them out and make sure to check out http://www.atlantafestivals.com/ often for updates and schedulesas well.

The East Atlanta Village First Friday is quickly approaching on April 3rd. This month EABA is Checklist Image

partnering with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training led by East Lake resident Graham McCullough. Make sure to make your way to the Village this Friday for a little fun and to support an outstanding group working for a great cause. Click HERE for more info.

The EARL goes Gourmet? You're kidding right? I guess that depends on your definition of gourmet but yet another great write up on a local establishment and from Gourmet Magazine no less. One of these days the people in this town might just figure out where we are: http://www.gourmet.com/restaurants/2009/03/eight-great-rock-venues-with-great-food

Also, EABA's next monthly meeting is Wednesday, April 2nd at 2:00 p.m. at the Library. Our meetings are always held the first Wednesday of the month.

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Traders (& AREA) Present the Ugliest Sofa in Atlanta Contest

Is your sofa just WRONG? Checklist Image

Enter it in our search for the UGLIEST sofa in Atlanta and you could win $1000 towards a brand new sofa!!! Submit a picture of your "ugly" and it could win!

Entries must be in a reasonably good, clean and useable condition
Entries must be currently in use and photographed in customers' home
Sofa's will be judged for overall WRONGNESS in both style and fabrication
Customers must reside in the Atlanta Metro Area
Winning Sofa's will become the property of AREA & Traders and will be displayed in each store as "The Ugliest Sofa in Atlanta"
Winners agree to be photographed in their homes with their "Ugly" sofa and with their new sofa they receive from AREA or Traders
AREA & Traders will have the rights to those photo's to be used in their advertising and web sites
One entry per Household
Entries must be received by May 15th, 2009
Entry Photos and applications must be submitted in person at either AREA or Traders
Entry Photos will be posted on www.tradersatlanta.com
For more information, contact Traders at traders485@aol.com or 404.522.3006

EACA Public Safety - Week 12 Crime Report

There is no weekly detailed crime report for March 15th - March 21st, 2009 yet as EACA's Public Safety Committee has not been provided with those figures yet by APD.

East Atlanta Security Patrol News & Information

To learn more about the East Atlanta Security Patrol or to enroll, visit the EASP website (http://patrol.eaca.net). The cost to join the patrol is $50 per quarter, with a 50% discount for longtime residents and those 65+. To qualify, you must have lived at the same address for 20 years or be over age 65. We also have a 20% discount for members of an APD-sanctioned Neighborhood Watch. Please contact us if you're interested in setting up a Neighborhood Watch on your street.

If you have additional questions, please direct them to securitypatrol@eaca.net, or call EACA Public Safety Chair Myron Polster at 404-429-8815.

2009 EACA Membership

Join or renew your EACA membership today! Annual dues are $10 per household. As an EACA member, you can vote at EACA meetings on topics of interest within our community. Additionally, there are numerous local businesses who offer discounts to EACA members. See the official list of EACA member discounts and take advantage of them by showing your 2009 membership card throughout the Village.

You can sign up for your 2009 EACA membership and order EACA Yard Signs on-line! Pay electronically through your online banking site or via Paypal HERE.

Contact Information:
E-mail: newsletter@eaca.net
Website: http://eaca.net

Submissions:
If you're interested in submitting an article to the EACA weekly newsletter, send it to newsletter@eaca.net by the end of the day on Friday. Include relevant dates, times, locations and contact information, as well as details of the event or announcement.